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Guest entry: Advocating for a workload approach in school systems

A number of my students at Keuka College have been working on policy and advocacy projects that I wanted to share. The students researched a topic of their interest, met with their legislators, and developed a broad action plan to increase awareness of their topics. This information is provided courtesy of Jenna Soldaczewski, a graduate student who is interested in promoting a workload approach in school systems. She found out how a parallel profession in NY (speech therapy) promoted change by advocating for alterations to the Part 200 NYS regulations that govern special education:

Many occupational therapists in school settings have caseloads so large that it negatively impacts the way that they can help children. Some therapists have proposed using a 'workload' approach for better managing productivity in the school systems.

After studying the caseload versus workload approach debate I created a quick presentation to encourage and inform OTs about what they can do to advocate for a 'workload' approach.

This presentation provides facts and information on the topic and also encourages OTs to speak with policy makers. This information is specific to New York State but could be generally applied in other locations. Please feel free to share the presentation with other professionals or on social media sites to spread the word regarding this topic.

My goal is to encourage as many people as possible to use this information to engage with policy makers.

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Captain of the U.S.S. ABC Therapeutics - private practice near Buffalo, NY. Part time educator and full time stirrer of pots, happily responding to people's needs from deep within the "darkness of free enterprise."